Javadekar rejects claim by IITM study as ‘incorrect’

New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday rejected the claims of a study released by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) which said that “life expectancy in Delhi has reduced by six years because of air pollution”.

Javadekar said the claim made by the study was ‘incorrect’ as it was not based on real data and that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will give a reply soon.

“A study released by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology claiming that the Life expectancy in Delhi has reduced by six years because of air pollution ‘is not correct’ as it is not based on real data, but only an extrapolation. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will give a detailed response in due course,” Javadekar.

“Moreover, the timing of the release of the study seems to be ‘motivated’ as it has been done at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a visit to the United States of America,” he added.

The minister said: “The problem of pollution is being faced by cities across the world. Each city is faced with different types of pollution. The study focussing only on India and creating sensationalism is not creditworthy.”

“I would like to put on record that the Modi Government has taken and is continuously taking several measures to tackle pollution in Delhi and the National Capital (NCR) region in association with the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and the measures taken have started showing positive results,” he added.